Lake Ndutu Luxury Tented Lodge

Lake Ndutu Luxury Tented Lodge stands between the south-eastern Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, in the Ndutu region. Acacia woodland shelters the camp, which looks across a lake-filled valley onto open short-grass plains. The lodge is unfenced, and resident game moves freely through the grounds. It lies roughly 5km (15 minutes) from the Ndutu airstrip, about 80km from Seronera in the central Serengeti, and around 90km west of the Ngorongoro Crater. The lodge has 20 guest tents, among them family suites made up of three interconnecting tents. Each tent rests on a raised wooden platform beneath a makuti roof of palm fronds, with hardwood floors and oversized floor-to-ceiling glass panels opening onto a private balcony. Interiors pair four-poster beds under mosquito netting with rattan furniture, a mini fridge and tea and coffee facilities. En-suite bathrooms have twin hand basins, a flush toilet and separate indoor and outdoor showers. Solar power with generator backup supplies 24-hour electricity, and Wi-Fi is free throughout. Dining centres on the thatched Simba Restaurant, raised on a platform above the savannah, serving continental cooking with Indian, Chinese and Italian influences. Bush breakfasts, lunches and dinners are laid out under acacia trees, and a Maasai boma hosts dinners around the fire. There is a bar and lounge, a swimming pool, a view deck fitted with magnifying equipment, an evening campfire and a curio shop. Ndutu is the calving ground. Between January and March the wildebeest drop tens of thousands of calves on these plains, drawing predators in close, and the herds linger from December into April. Game drives, guided nature walks and balloon safaris fill the days. Unlike the mobile camps that follow the herds, this is a permanent lodge open year-round.